Catalina de Montreal

I had been pleasantly surprised at the smoothness of my travels up until this trip....as everything seemed to be going according to plan, and I even tended to arrive earlier to places than expected. Therefore when I left for Salta from Tupiza at 8 in the morning, I was relatively sure that the estimated 8 hour journey would have me arriving in Salta before sundown.....little did I know that the Quiaca/Villazon would prove to be a 4 hour wait. Now I´m all for national sovereignty....and countries having their own border....but I think it is really archaic that I had to wait 2 hours at the Villazon border to leave Bolivia and 2 hours at the Quiaca border to enter Argentina. I think it is quite logical that someone leaves a country has to enter another country.....so ... read more

The anticipation to see family had been building up for weeks, so when I finally saw my sister, it was definitely one of the happiest moments of my trip. It was also nice to get to see her on her 30th Birthday! I was a little afraid she was not going to make it as she has missed her first flight, but she was able to get on another flight, and arrived only 3 hours later than expected. The second best part of staying with my sister is that she is not really a hostel person...so we got a hotel room which was really nice. They had clean bathrooms (with no cracks in the wall), breakfast delivered to our room, a television, heating....now this is what I call living the life! Although we only arrived into ... read more

La Paz is definitely cold at night! I was really thankful that the hostel I stayed at was nice to provide us with extra blankets:). We arrived pretty late, but me and Dania, a girl who had travelled with me to La Paz, had some food and a celebratory drink at the Hostel Bar...to celebrate arriving safely before going to bed. The next day, I was woken up to a marching band. I had arrived during ¨El dia de La Paz¨and they were celebrating 200 years since the city gained its independence. However, the coolest thing is that the actual day of the event is the 16th....but in Bolivia they celebrate the event all week! I think Canada should take a page out of their book....why celebrate one day when you can celebrate 7! I actually ... read more

As I landed in Cusco, I found myself 3450 meters above sea level, in a place that was really cold! It was so cold and rainy outside that I actually spent the majority of my first day seeking shelter in an Italian Pizzeria and in an internet cafe. However, I did manage to make it to my orientation session for the Salkantay Trek, where I was informed that I would be trekking through snow and that I needed mittens, a tuque, sleeping bag, walking stick etc. Therefore, I spent a lot of my second day in Cusco in the markets searching for all the supplies required for my trek. I had fun taking a bus to the local markets to haggle for a jacket and track pants! It was also much warmer on day 2, which ... read more

After a long journey that took me over 24 hours, I finally reached Huanchaco... and the first thing I did when I arrived was shower! I was especially happy because there was hot water...which is always a bonus! However, after this I realized that I had arrived on the Fiesta de San Pedro, and since Huanchaco is a fishing village and San Pedro is the patron saint of fisherman, there were festivities in town. When I arrived in the hostel I had met a girl who was actually working in Gaspesie, Quebec, so we went out have some ceviche (a peruvian specialty of raw fish, lime and onions) and then went to a party that was going on in town. It was great to take in the music and the dancing:) However, I was too tired ... read more